I just discovered that this was still sitting in draught mode since SEPTEMBER 2015. Time to finish it off quickly and get it posted.
Salerno, Saturday Sept 26th
The day started with the usual, hurry up and wait. The bus company suggested we arrive at the stop approx. an hour before departure time. Assuming that we would be departing from a bus station, we were surprised to find that it was just a solitary stop a few metres north of Piazza Montpelier in Salerno. A good samaritan actually drove us to the bus stop when we asked him for directions.
True to Italian scheduling, the bus arrived a half hour late but the rest of the trip ran smoothly with our 1pm arrival in Rome only slightly delayed. ( Not so lucky the traffic heading south on the same freeway. A transport truck had flipped some 40km south of Rome bocking all 3 lanes and causing a 10km back-up.
The bus dropped us at Tiburtina station which turned out to be a 13 Euro cab ride from our Guest House.
The main sights of Rome seem to be within a 25 minute walk of our accomodations and as best as I can guess we will spend more time waiting in line than we will actually walking to many sites. A comprehensive 3 day ticket (Roma Pass) seems to be the way to cut through many of the ticket and transportation issues, so we will give that a try.
Sunday 10pm- Rome
After 2 days we have walked close to 50,000 steps, covering many of the major sites of the city including the Circus Maximus, Paletine Hill, Roman Forum, Campo de Fiori, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps plus a walk by of the Colosseum. The problem with this city is that there are too many tourists and most seem to be leaning against, slouched beside or sitting on most of the famous objects in the city. So unless one gets up at 6am or stays out until late, there is very little chance of getting any clear shots of anything in this city. And with the current "selfie stick" revolution, no-one seems to take actual photos of objects any more, rather, they are now "me in front of whatever"
Tuesday 29th
I think we saw all the major sites and sights in Rome including the Sistine Chapel and rather than regurgitate it here, I would simply suggest you google for photos of the same.
I'm very glad that I saw Rome but I'm not sure I'd go back. There are other places in Italy that are calling my name- maybe next year.
Monday, September 26, 2016
Final posting for anyone following my trips.
Due to issues accessing this link when I am travelling in Europe I have switched my travel blog to
theepic2016trip.blogspot.ca. Copy that into the header line and it should come up OK.
The actual title is Eastern Europe 2016 and covers a 3 week trip via Venice and Northern Croatia with a short stop in Barcelona on the way back.
If this doesn't work, just contact my e-mail and I can update you.
Signing off,
David D
Sept 26th 2016
theepic2016trip.blogspot.ca. Copy that into the header line and it should come up OK.
The actual title is Eastern Europe 2016 and covers a 3 week trip via Venice and Northern Croatia with a short stop in Barcelona on the way back.
If this doesn't work, just contact my e-mail and I can update you.
Signing off,
David D
Sept 26th 2016
Friday, September 25, 2015
Salerno sin touristas!
Although originally planned as a quick overnight before Rome, Salerno turned into a two night stay that has turned out to be quite a nice break from the mad crush of tourists jamming the Amalfi coast. While the time we spent in Ravello was nice, even being a 30 minute drive above Amalfi did not spare us the cruiseship flocks who seemed to come by the busload.
Our B & B was, some 900 years earlier a Palace owned by a wealthy family. The B & B was built into the original structure and offered a reasonable degree of comfort if one didn't mind the hike up ancient stone stairways. The town itself is a small maze of streets wandering in all kinds of random directions over the sides of the mountain and offers some amazing views of the coast below. From the town there are several walking trails that lead to neighbouring villages on the mountains, or if one keeps going- all the way back to Amalfi and also Minori. Requiring some 45 minutes to an hour the trails wander off in different directions so one can perhaps visit the same town daily for a week without using the exact same trail each time. The town has some 40 eating establishments- a couple being Michelin rated. I think a Michelin two star means a meal costs you at least the price of two tires!
Getting from Ravello to Salerno, a distance of perhaps 34 km took a change of buses at Amalfi and the entire journey took from 10am to 12:15 with a 20 minute layover in Amalfi. The route between hugged the sides of cliffs some 600 feet above the Mediterranean and with roads often no wider than a typical Canadian driveway required lots of stops and starts as the bus had to wait for opposing traffic to clear.
Once in Salerno it took no time to find our accomodation. Albergo Santa Rosa was less than 100 feet from the train station and shockingly is very quiet, with little street noise, even though we are only on the second floor.
Compared to Capri, Amalfi and Ravello meals are cheap by comparison, with total costs being about 60-65 % of what we were paying.
A visit today to Vietri, some 4 km west of here found us at the very end of the Amalfi Coast in a town where almost every second shop sold Ceramica, from small tiles to giant vases and plates up to 3 feet in diameter. Very beautiful, but a little tricky to ship.
After making a few small purchases we bused it back into town stopping at the Cathedral with its magnificent crypt and baroque main altar, as well as a rather unique courtyard in front with arched walls and a tall, very old bell tower.
The archeological museum , our final stop of the afternoon had some interesting pieces, mostly ceramics of greek and roman style as well as a small collection of statues and building facades. Tonight, perhaps our last opportunity for really fresh seafood before we head for Rome tomorrow morning.
Our B & B was, some 900 years earlier a Palace owned by a wealthy family. The B & B was built into the original structure and offered a reasonable degree of comfort if one didn't mind the hike up ancient stone stairways. The town itself is a small maze of streets wandering in all kinds of random directions over the sides of the mountain and offers some amazing views of the coast below. From the town there are several walking trails that lead to neighbouring villages on the mountains, or if one keeps going- all the way back to Amalfi and also Minori. Requiring some 45 minutes to an hour the trails wander off in different directions so one can perhaps visit the same town daily for a week without using the exact same trail each time. The town has some 40 eating establishments- a couple being Michelin rated. I think a Michelin two star means a meal costs you at least the price of two tires!
Getting from Ravello to Salerno, a distance of perhaps 34 km took a change of buses at Amalfi and the entire journey took from 10am to 12:15 with a 20 minute layover in Amalfi. The route between hugged the sides of cliffs some 600 feet above the Mediterranean and with roads often no wider than a typical Canadian driveway required lots of stops and starts as the bus had to wait for opposing traffic to clear.
Once in Salerno it took no time to find our accomodation. Albergo Santa Rosa was less than 100 feet from the train station and shockingly is very quiet, with little street noise, even though we are only on the second floor.
Compared to Capri, Amalfi and Ravello meals are cheap by comparison, with total costs being about 60-65 % of what we were paying.
A visit today to Vietri, some 4 km west of here found us at the very end of the Amalfi Coast in a town where almost every second shop sold Ceramica, from small tiles to giant vases and plates up to 3 feet in diameter. Very beautiful, but a little tricky to ship.
After making a few small purchases we bused it back into town stopping at the Cathedral with its magnificent crypt and baroque main altar, as well as a rather unique courtyard in front with arched walls and a tall, very old bell tower.
The archeological museum , our final stop of the afternoon had some interesting pieces, mostly ceramics of greek and roman style as well as a small collection of statues and building facades. Tonight, perhaps our last opportunity for really fresh seafood before we head for Rome tomorrow morning.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Capri
The trip from Pompeii was somewhat of a "hurry up and wait" experience, with a rather tricky descent from Sorrento station to the marina. Cobblestones do not make a friendly footing for wheeled luggage.
The ferry ride to Capri was a little rough. One of the crew was walking around with plastic "barf bags" offering them to patrons based on what I am guessing would be skin colour and overall expression. The trip took roughly 30 minutes, ending with a rather chaotic exit from the dock area. Given the option of a 25Euro cab ride or a 7 Euro bus ride we opted for the latter and spent a good half hour in line for the pleasure of being squeezed onto a 8 seater mini bus along with 30 other people and their luggage. The ride to Anacapri was a serpentine route that skirted the cliffs and climbed ever higher above the sea. The bus rolled into the central square around 12:30pm and a policeman pointed us in the direction of our hotel. ( For once, an actual hotel, as opposed to a B&B. ) Anacapri ( meaning Upper Capri) is roughly in the centre of the island and seems to be a little less "upscale" than it's adjacent partner. After a tour of the town we did take a bus ride to Cari town where we spent a couple of hours wandering the streets, window shopping the Designer stores on the main drag, Georgio Armana Leg and Dolce and Banana or whatever the eff it is called. The restaurants weren't much better- 90 euro for 5 courses, accompanying wine another 45. We quickly retreated back to Anacapri for decent meal at a family run taverna.
Monday we spent the morning taking the cable ride up to the top of Monte Solaro, one of the highest points on the island and a great viewpoint to see the entire island, A hike down from the top was not without incident as both Susanna and I slipped on wet ground and did a rather rough tumble before regaining our footing. I now have a bruised hip for my efforts and Susanna has a few small puncture wounds from thorns.
It took the better part of Tuesday to travel from Anacapri to the main harbour then to Sorrento via high speed ferry. Our wait at the bus terminal was close to an hour before we managed to grab seats on a bus to Amafi. It woud be another hour and a hald before we were able to board a bus up into the hills above Amalfi for our stay in Ravello, Set on the side of several steep hills, this town is generally a day trip for most tourists, For us it is a break away from the herds of cruise sheep. The place seems to be one photo op after another and there are several paths along the hills to neighbouring towns, so we may not be in any kind of rush to return to Amalfi.
The ferry ride to Capri was a little rough. One of the crew was walking around with plastic "barf bags" offering them to patrons based on what I am guessing would be skin colour and overall expression. The trip took roughly 30 minutes, ending with a rather chaotic exit from the dock area. Given the option of a 25Euro cab ride or a 7 Euro bus ride we opted for the latter and spent a good half hour in line for the pleasure of being squeezed onto a 8 seater mini bus along with 30 other people and their luggage. The ride to Anacapri was a serpentine route that skirted the cliffs and climbed ever higher above the sea. The bus rolled into the central square around 12:30pm and a policeman pointed us in the direction of our hotel. ( For once, an actual hotel, as opposed to a B&B. ) Anacapri ( meaning Upper Capri) is roughly in the centre of the island and seems to be a little less "upscale" than it's adjacent partner. After a tour of the town we did take a bus ride to Cari town where we spent a couple of hours wandering the streets, window shopping the Designer stores on the main drag, Georgio Armana Leg and Dolce and Banana or whatever the eff it is called. The restaurants weren't much better- 90 euro for 5 courses, accompanying wine another 45. We quickly retreated back to Anacapri for decent meal at a family run taverna.
Monday we spent the morning taking the cable ride up to the top of Monte Solaro, one of the highest points on the island and a great viewpoint to see the entire island, A hike down from the top was not without incident as both Susanna and I slipped on wet ground and did a rather rough tumble before regaining our footing. I now have a bruised hip for my efforts and Susanna has a few small puncture wounds from thorns.
It took the better part of Tuesday to travel from Anacapri to the main harbour then to Sorrento via high speed ferry. Our wait at the bus terminal was close to an hour before we managed to grab seats on a bus to Amafi. It woud be another hour and a hald before we were able to board a bus up into the hills above Amalfi for our stay in Ravello, Set on the side of several steep hills, this town is generally a day trip for most tourists, For us it is a break away from the herds of cruise sheep. The place seems to be one photo op after another and there are several paths along the hills to neighbouring towns, so we may not be in any kind of rush to return to Amalfi.
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Vesuveus AND Ercolano
Friday morning we caught the northbound train and got off at Ercolano, the modern city surrounding the ancient Roman site of Herculaneum. First on our list was a half hour bus ride up the side of Mt. Vesuvius to a point about 1000 feet from the very top of the mountain, Over the course of the next hour and a half we hoofed it until we reached the edge of the crater. Unlike the volcanoes I have tackled in Nicaragua this one is, essentially plugged so there is no steam or lave escaping from the actual cone. Down below, on the sides of the volcano, steam can be seen billowing out of various cracks. It was very coudy when we arrived at the top but just before we descended the clouds cleared, offering some impressive views of the surrounding towns some several thousand feet below. Upon returning to the town it was only a short jaunt before we reached Herculaneum. Most of the site is well below the natural ground level of the modern city so one almost gets a bird's eye view before entering the site. While Pompeii is a staggering 170 acres in total this site is tiny by comparison, roughly rectangular and perhaps 1/4 of a mile across. Laid our in grid form it consists of some 30 odd streets with about 40 buildings that were accessible. Many of the interiors had been preserved or restored giving a good idea of what life must have been like before the eruption. We spent probably close to 3 and 1/2 hours in total before returning to Pompeii around 6:45pm. After a reasonable recuperation period we spent the balance of Saturday night mostly people watching near the main Piazza. It seemed as if the locals were all out celebrating the fact that the tourists had all gone home and they finally had their town to themselves. A pizza for dinner accompanied by a glass of house wine that must have held at least half a bottle, so for me, sleep was the top item on my agenda when we reached our B & B.
Pompeii Ruins
Compared to the craziness that is Naples, the streets of Pompeii are remarkably calm and the drivers will actually show some courtesy by not attempting to run you down as you cross the road. I found out the hard way that Pompeii has 3 railway stations, two of which face the main square but at opposite ends of the town. I guessed wrong then I picked my station on the map and spent 40 minutes trying to figure out why my map was backwards or if I had suddenly developed dyslexia.Anyway, we ultimately found our B & B and went thrugh the usual drill- Remove sweat soaked clothing, wash and hang the same then shower. During the afternoon we walked the perimeter of the ruins and traced a route back to the main square before making our way to dinner at Add'u Mimi where we spent 2 hours plus working our way through multiple courses of delicious food and beverages.
A light breakfast at our B & B at 8 then a short hike to the ruins for our grand tour.
Pompeii is not for the faint of heart, my pedometer recorded close to 16000 steps over the course of our 5 hour. While I could go into details that you could find anywhere, I will just simply comment that the site is probably one of the largest I have encountered and perhaps one of the more frustrating, since many routes are closed off due to further excavation thus eliminating easy access to buildings in the northern sections of the ruins. We occasionally encountered huge pedestrian traffic jams due to the sluggish speed of extremely large ( mostly cruise ship) groups of 50 or more. A guide would proobably have helped but they would not have allowed us the time or flexibility to cover as much of the ruins as we didi on our own. Clearly some further reading will be required to fully comprehend the intricacies behind many buildings. But the heavily accented English spoken by many of the guides around us would have also made this difficult.
A planned trip to Ercolano ( Herculaneum) with details already downloaded to our phones and pads should make it somewhat easier, the site being significantly smaller.
A light breakfast at our B & B at 8 then a short hike to the ruins for our grand tour.
Pompeii is not for the faint of heart, my pedometer recorded close to 16000 steps over the course of our 5 hour. While I could go into details that you could find anywhere, I will just simply comment that the site is probably one of the largest I have encountered and perhaps one of the more frustrating, since many routes are closed off due to further excavation thus eliminating easy access to buildings in the northern sections of the ruins. We occasionally encountered huge pedestrian traffic jams due to the sluggish speed of extremely large ( mostly cruise ship) groups of 50 or more. A guide would proobably have helped but they would not have allowed us the time or flexibility to cover as much of the ruins as we didi on our own. Clearly some further reading will be required to fully comprehend the intricacies behind many buildings. But the heavily accented English spoken by many of the guides around us would have also made this difficult.
A planned trip to Ercolano ( Herculaneum) with details already downloaded to our phones and pads should make it somewhat easier, the site being significantly smaller.
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Last Night in Naples
Do Italians "REALLY" eat Tiramisu and cake for breakfast? Seems so from the buffet this morning- large hunks of chocolate cake and icing- as well as some really healthy stuff, fruit, bruscetta, frittatta and lots of strong coffee, but seriously, chocolate cake?
Anyway, we caught the metro to the Archeological museum because we figured it was a bit far to walk, Considering the 4 floors up and down to the underground station and the wait for the train, walking might have been quicker, but the temperature was already beyond 28 and the humidy was climbing, so NO!
The museum is the place to see "the stuff that is no longer at the ruins of Pompeii, several collections of paintings, mozaics, frescoes and various wall decorations. As well several rooms containing sculptures of various mythological and real people from Roman times, bot BC and AD. Like many of the statues that we had seen on our travels in Greece and Turkey, these were often reproductions of statues from other locations and earlier times. So no, knock-offs were not invented by the Chinese in the late 20th century, rather it is a form of flattery or plagiarism that has gone on for thousands of years.
With perhaps 20,000 pieces on display, I will spare you the details and say that we managed three hours before we decided that food does sometimes trump knowledge.
A trip into the Historical Centre found us facing block long lines for pizza at the main vendors so we found a side street and settled on seafood pasta.
Our next stop was a tour of Underground Naples, featuring tunnels and walkways dating back to Roman times. If you've ever been to Marry King's Close in Edinburgh, you'll get the idea, but not anywhere near as impressive.
Our final stop was the Museo Cappella Sansavero . Built in the 16th century, part Chapel, part family mausoleum, the current structure is an example of ultimate beauty or ultimate, over the top gaudiness, depending on one's point of view. About 30 sculptures line the building, the most famous being Il Cristo Velato or the Veiled Christ, depicting Christ, post cruxifiction shrouded by a thin cloth, through which can be seen details as the veins and the wounds. The entire piece was carved from a single piece of marble as were many of the other pieces on display. With photography prohibited we felt a little "short-changed" but like everything else "google it" should correct that situation.
After 3 full days of exploration, we felt that Naples had shown us all it could offer and we returned to our hotel to re-pack for our next 3 days in and around Pompeii.
Walking out for dinner this evening, I still found myself touched by dozens of vendors on the street. one for every 50 feet of pavement, wares displayed on blankets, their efforts all but ignored by most of the passersby. Naples has always been a city associated with Organized Crime. Could his be part ofthe same? perhaps nothing more than an attempt to launder money back into the system. I guess I'll never know.
Anyway, we caught the metro to the Archeological museum because we figured it was a bit far to walk, Considering the 4 floors up and down to the underground station and the wait for the train, walking might have been quicker, but the temperature was already beyond 28 and the humidy was climbing, so NO!
The museum is the place to see "the stuff that is no longer at the ruins of Pompeii, several collections of paintings, mozaics, frescoes and various wall decorations. As well several rooms containing sculptures of various mythological and real people from Roman times, bot BC and AD. Like many of the statues that we had seen on our travels in Greece and Turkey, these were often reproductions of statues from other locations and earlier times. So no, knock-offs were not invented by the Chinese in the late 20th century, rather it is a form of flattery or plagiarism that has gone on for thousands of years.
With perhaps 20,000 pieces on display, I will spare you the details and say that we managed three hours before we decided that food does sometimes trump knowledge.
A trip into the Historical Centre found us facing block long lines for pizza at the main vendors so we found a side street and settled on seafood pasta.
Our next stop was a tour of Underground Naples, featuring tunnels and walkways dating back to Roman times. If you've ever been to Marry King's Close in Edinburgh, you'll get the idea, but not anywhere near as impressive.
Our final stop was the Museo Cappella Sansavero . Built in the 16th century, part Chapel, part family mausoleum, the current structure is an example of ultimate beauty or ultimate, over the top gaudiness, depending on one's point of view. About 30 sculptures line the building, the most famous being Il Cristo Velato or the Veiled Christ, depicting Christ, post cruxifiction shrouded by a thin cloth, through which can be seen details as the veins and the wounds. The entire piece was carved from a single piece of marble as were many of the other pieces on display. With photography prohibited we felt a little "short-changed" but like everything else "google it" should correct that situation.
After 3 full days of exploration, we felt that Naples had shown us all it could offer and we returned to our hotel to re-pack for our next 3 days in and around Pompeii.
Walking out for dinner this evening, I still found myself touched by dozens of vendors on the street. one for every 50 feet of pavement, wares displayed on blankets, their efforts all but ignored by most of the passersby. Naples has always been a city associated with Organized Crime. Could his be part ofthe same? perhaps nothing more than an attempt to launder money back into the system. I guess I'll never know.
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Where Do You Go Too, My Lovely?
The above title references a song from the mid-1960's written by a now forgotten artist, Peter Sarstedt. I was reminded of its references to Naples as we returned to the hotel from a late night dinner.
At 10pm, most of the tourists are back in their cruise ship bunks and all that remains on the streets are small groups of locals hanging out in the slowly cooling evening air. Perhaps they want company or are just trying to avoid the heat of upper floor apartments that dont have air conditioning. On the main block, Via Foria, several police cars are lined up, most of their drivers engaged in group conversation, while the remainder stand or lean against open car doors as if waiting for some action to occur.
Several feet away a drunk sits glassy eyed on a small blanket, a 3/4 finished bottle of red wine, open, between his legs.
Continuing our walk along the Via Carbonnara, kids are playing in the streets while older kids smoke quite openly, cigarettes, some cigars, some joints. Looking down darkened back streets, there is some laundry still hanging and the occasional wanderer, but it doesn't look too inviting.
As we approach a main intersection, more police cars are visible, some parked with standard police logos, other black and generally bigger SUV's are marked Carbanieri- perhaps they are expecting some action. Again, several feet away another drunk, passed out, ignored, lays half behind a parking barrier while a few feet away a prostitute seems to be negotiating with a client.
Further on, small food stalls and shops are offering rotisserie chicken and pizza, their owners proudly displaying large dome like pizza ovens glowing red hot, yet they seem oblivious to the heat.
Closer to the hotel, several dozen men, mostly black, are standing silently in front of a betting house window, their attention totally focussed on a large (60inch?) TV which is showing a scoreless soccer game, its speakers cranked high to allow the commentators voice to penetrate through the glass. As we approach the entrance to the hotel, a cheer goes up from the group- I am guessing someone scored.
Safely inside our building, some time later on, I can hear a group of loud voices shouting boistrously- perhaps someone bet on the right team. Looking down at the street below, a food truck vendor seems to be doing brisk business as people sit or stand, consuming his offerings. Adjacent to the food truck others seem to be selling trinkets and pens from small plastic tables, with few takers.
I close the shutters and let the air conditioner drown out what remains of the street sounds for another night.
At 10pm, most of the tourists are back in their cruise ship bunks and all that remains on the streets are small groups of locals hanging out in the slowly cooling evening air. Perhaps they want company or are just trying to avoid the heat of upper floor apartments that dont have air conditioning. On the main block, Via Foria, several police cars are lined up, most of their drivers engaged in group conversation, while the remainder stand or lean against open car doors as if waiting for some action to occur.
Several feet away a drunk sits glassy eyed on a small blanket, a 3/4 finished bottle of red wine, open, between his legs.
Continuing our walk along the Via Carbonnara, kids are playing in the streets while older kids smoke quite openly, cigarettes, some cigars, some joints. Looking down darkened back streets, there is some laundry still hanging and the occasional wanderer, but it doesn't look too inviting.
As we approach a main intersection, more police cars are visible, some parked with standard police logos, other black and generally bigger SUV's are marked Carbanieri- perhaps they are expecting some action. Again, several feet away another drunk, passed out, ignored, lays half behind a parking barrier while a few feet away a prostitute seems to be negotiating with a client.
Further on, small food stalls and shops are offering rotisserie chicken and pizza, their owners proudly displaying large dome like pizza ovens glowing red hot, yet they seem oblivious to the heat.
Closer to the hotel, several dozen men, mostly black, are standing silently in front of a betting house window, their attention totally focussed on a large (60inch?) TV which is showing a scoreless soccer game, its speakers cranked high to allow the commentators voice to penetrate through the glass. As we approach the entrance to the hotel, a cheer goes up from the group- I am guessing someone scored.
Safely inside our building, some time later on, I can hear a group of loud voices shouting boistrously- perhaps someone bet on the right team. Looking down at the street below, a food truck vendor seems to be doing brisk business as people sit or stand, consuming his offerings. Adjacent to the food truck others seem to be selling trinkets and pens from small plastic tables, with few takers.
I close the shutters and let the air conditioner drown out what remains of the street sounds for another night.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Napoli- Day 2
A bus ride across town this morning brought us to the Santa Lucia district of Naples where we spent a couple of hours touring the Palazzo Reale ( Royal Palace), built in the 16th century. The museum, which seemed to be the only part of the palace not covered by scaffolding and construction "drapes" consists of a very elaborate staircase and several large rooms. Essentially apartments, they contained various furnishings, tapestries, statues and paintings from, mostly 16th-18th centuries.
Adjacent to the Palace, the Castel Nuevo, a 13th century castle keep looms over much of the harbour area. Mostly displaying "more old stuff!" we decided to save the entry fee and opted for a walk down to the port area and ferry terminal. The presence of 4 rather large cruise ships explained the thousands of tourists being herded through the city by umbrella wielding tour guides.
An uphill hike into the Centro Historico brought us to a small square where several hundred local students seemed to be behaving just like kids do everywhere! We escaped the crowds by entering the Basilica di Santa Chiara, a rather large structure which was originally ( 14th century) a residence for monks and (somewhat later) for nuns too. Its main feature is an impressive garden area bounded on all sides by cloisters with elaborate ceiling decorations and frescoes. The garden itself features 72 octagonal columns decorated with ceramic tiles. Each column is attached to the adjacent one with a bench of ceramic tiles which feature scenes depicting rural life in the 18th century.
Incidentally, most of the basilica was reduced to rubble by allied bombing in WWII, restoration being commenced post-war and completed in 1953, 10 years after the initial destruction.
Exiting the Basilica we sampled some local pizza, ( rather disppointing) before catching a bus back to the hotel, (exhausted but somewhat more educated!) for a quick shower and siesta before venturing out for the evening.
Adjacent to the Palace, the Castel Nuevo, a 13th century castle keep looms over much of the harbour area. Mostly displaying "more old stuff!" we decided to save the entry fee and opted for a walk down to the port area and ferry terminal. The presence of 4 rather large cruise ships explained the thousands of tourists being herded through the city by umbrella wielding tour guides.
An uphill hike into the Centro Historico brought us to a small square where several hundred local students seemed to be behaving just like kids do everywhere! We escaped the crowds by entering the Basilica di Santa Chiara, a rather large structure which was originally ( 14th century) a residence for monks and (somewhat later) for nuns too. Its main feature is an impressive garden area bounded on all sides by cloisters with elaborate ceiling decorations and frescoes. The garden itself features 72 octagonal columns decorated with ceramic tiles. Each column is attached to the adjacent one with a bench of ceramic tiles which feature scenes depicting rural life in the 18th century.
Incidentally, most of the basilica was reduced to rubble by allied bombing in WWII, restoration being commenced post-war and completed in 1953, 10 years after the initial destruction.
Exiting the Basilica we sampled some local pizza, ( rather disppointing) before catching a bus back to the hotel, (exhausted but somewhat more educated!) for a quick shower and siesta before venturing out for the evening.
Italy Day 1
Sweet Sleep is the name of the small private hotel that will be our home for the next 3 day. As it is on the sixth floor of an old building Sweat Sleep might be a better title, considering that the temperature at 10pm is still hovering around 27 degrees,get
Our balcony actually overlooks the Piazza Garibaldi, one of the city's main Squares and the main transportation hub of the town.
Our flight landed at Naples airport at noon and it took no time at all to grab our luggage and hop a bus to the Square. Armed with a poor map of the city it took almost a half hour to locate our building. Located on the sixth floor and reached by a coin-op elevator ( yes! a dime a trip) All I had were 2 five cent coins which didn't fit the coin box. So our first trip, luggage and all was via the staircase.
After a seriously needed change of clothing we set off to explore the old city and promptly got lost. Naples is an easy city to get lost in, with some rather narrow streets and tourist maps that are not quite to scale or accurate. The city is easily walkable if one doesn't mind the rather oppressive heat and humidity. There seems to be a historical church at almost every street corner, most in a state of disrepair and several in a state of what must be perpetual renovation. Beside these various churches, street vendors and small shops offered everything from pizza to purses. As if the streets weren't busy enough, every 50 to 60 feet a Somali street vendor was offering "genuine" knock-offs of famous designers, purses, wallets, bags and the inevitable "selfie" sticks. I am not sure why every single streetvendor seemed to have the same racial characteristics- perhaps to better tolerate the heat !
Three hours and maybe 15 churches and cathedrals later we returned to our hotel, loaded up with bevereages, so wecould relax and await sunset and a hoped for drop in temperature, which never really happened.
We eventually ventured out for supper for a typical Italian meal. Starting with a sizeable salad, I managed to work my way through a pasta (first course) and a plate of grilled calamari (second course) , nicely washed down with a bottle of the local vino- Falanghina de Vesuvio ( I think they call it that cause your head feels like a volcano exploding the next day!!) LOL . Luckily Susanna did her best to make sure she got her fair share, otherwise I would probably still be under the table. The entire meal came to a reasonable 34 euro, including the wine which was only 6 Euro a bottle.
A walk around the neighbourhood after dinner brought us to the Circumvesuvio train station, from where we will make our way south on Thursday morning. Public transport seems to be quite efficient around here ( apparently Mussolini gets much of the credit for that, if not much else)
Sorry folks, but no pictures at this point- just spent 30 minutes trying to upload one!
Sorry folks, but no pictures at this point- just spent 30 minutes trying to upload one!
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Italy Pre-amble
It is almost 10pm on Saturday Sept 12th. We have just had our last meal of Chinese food in what will be quite a while, in anticipation of a steady diet of pasta, pizza and pesce (fish) for the next 3 weeks.
The flight leaves Toronto for Naples at 6:30pm, getting into our destination around noon Monday, following a brief stopover in Paris.
The agenda is pretty well planned out with three nights in Naples in order to explore the various museums, churches and art galleries.
A train ride to Pompeii on 17th should give us time to drop our bags at the hotel and visit the ancient site of Herculaneum, also buried by the same volcanic eruption, but somehow less well known.
The next two days should give us ample time to explore Pompeii and attempt a hike up Mt. Vesuvius.
Then a further train ride to Sorrento where the plan is to board a ferry to the Isle of Capri for two nights. A visit to the Blue Grotto is on the agenda as well as some hikes along the island's many trails.
Returning to Sorrento, I am hoping local buses will get me to the town (village) of Ravello, some 4 km up the mountain from Amalfi. Again some hiking is planned as well as some wine tasting.
After 2 nights there we have to find our way to the costal town of Salerno where we will stay for one night before catching a bus to Rome.
6 nights and 7 days in Rome should hopefully allow ample time to see most of the major sites. A tour of the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel is already booked as well as 2 days of transport using a Hop on, Hop off bus service which stops at all the major historical sites.
All in all, a very full 20 day agenda which will probably leave me needing a vacation on returning home.
With the exception of the Vatican tour, the entire trip will be self-directed. While I would normally use G Adventures ( formerly GAP) I decided their tour of the same area were either too rushed with little time for exploring, or the opposite, too slow because they were primarily localized hikes.
I have a couple of guide books as well as some Rick Steves audio tours for major sites such as Pompeii and the Coliseum, so hopefully we will survive.
I have also restricted our luggage to carry on in order to minimize the physical stress of hauling the casket sized suitcase that is the norm for most North Americans. My actual clothing only occupies half of the space, the remainder being taken up by notebooks, chargers, walking poles and of course my size 11.5 shoes and sandals! With just a little room left over for junk food, bottle openers, bandaids, laundry soap and shampoo.
Assuming I dont have the same struggles as last years trip to the Balkan's ( locked out of my own e-mail because hotmail didn't believe I was me!!!) I do intend to update this blog on at least an every other day basis just to be annoying. I may upload photos if the Weefee (thats how they were pronouncing WiFi in the Balkans) is somewhat faster than dial up.
If we run out of money we may just stay here, perhaps head for Germany and claim refugee status- two impoverished seniors fleeing a corrupt dictatorship- well it's almost true. Harper is a Dick, with the brains of a tater (potato) operating a sinking ship- hence Dic-Tater-Ship! LOL
Seriously, I hope , as we are mostly on the west side of the coast, that we do not have to encounter the struggles of the New " Boat People" who are currently flooding into Italy from the Middle East Conflict.
Chiao or rather Buona notte
The flight leaves Toronto for Naples at 6:30pm, getting into our destination around noon Monday, following a brief stopover in Paris.
The agenda is pretty well planned out with three nights in Naples in order to explore the various museums, churches and art galleries.
A train ride to Pompeii on 17th should give us time to drop our bags at the hotel and visit the ancient site of Herculaneum, also buried by the same volcanic eruption, but somehow less well known.
The next two days should give us ample time to explore Pompeii and attempt a hike up Mt. Vesuvius.
Then a further train ride to Sorrento where the plan is to board a ferry to the Isle of Capri for two nights. A visit to the Blue Grotto is on the agenda as well as some hikes along the island's many trails.
Returning to Sorrento, I am hoping local buses will get me to the town (village) of Ravello, some 4 km up the mountain from Amalfi. Again some hiking is planned as well as some wine tasting.
After 2 nights there we have to find our way to the costal town of Salerno where we will stay for one night before catching a bus to Rome.
6 nights and 7 days in Rome should hopefully allow ample time to see most of the major sites. A tour of the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel is already booked as well as 2 days of transport using a Hop on, Hop off bus service which stops at all the major historical sites.
All in all, a very full 20 day agenda which will probably leave me needing a vacation on returning home.
With the exception of the Vatican tour, the entire trip will be self-directed. While I would normally use G Adventures ( formerly GAP) I decided their tour of the same area were either too rushed with little time for exploring, or the opposite, too slow because they were primarily localized hikes.
I have a couple of guide books as well as some Rick Steves audio tours for major sites such as Pompeii and the Coliseum, so hopefully we will survive.
I have also restricted our luggage to carry on in order to minimize the physical stress of hauling the casket sized suitcase that is the norm for most North Americans. My actual clothing only occupies half of the space, the remainder being taken up by notebooks, chargers, walking poles and of course my size 11.5 shoes and sandals! With just a little room left over for junk food, bottle openers, bandaids, laundry soap and shampoo.
Assuming I dont have the same struggles as last years trip to the Balkan's ( locked out of my own e-mail because hotmail didn't believe I was me!!!) I do intend to update this blog on at least an every other day basis just to be annoying. I may upload photos if the Weefee (thats how they were pronouncing WiFi in the Balkans) is somewhat faster than dial up.
If we run out of money we may just stay here, perhaps head for Germany and claim refugee status- two impoverished seniors fleeing a corrupt dictatorship- well it's almost true. Harper is a Dick, with the brains of a tater (potato) operating a sinking ship- hence Dic-Tater-Ship! LOL
Seriously, I hope , as we are mostly on the west side of the coast, that we do not have to encounter the struggles of the New " Boat People" who are currently flooding into Italy from the Middle East Conflict.
Chiao or rather Buona notte
Monday, May 4, 2015
Gannin yem
This blog has been dormant since our last trip to europe in 2014.
Today marks Day 10 in my countdown to my first trip to the UK in almost 20 years.
May 14th I hop a Transat flight to Gatwick which will hopefully get in on time.
My plan is to get to Durham in time for "tea" on May 15th and maybe get a plate of fish and chips
( the day being Friday)
Saturday it looks like I will be joining my cousin Stuart to see a Premier League game in which Sunderland boots Leicester's arse right out of the park!!
Then maybe 10 days hanging around with my cousins, exploring the places where I grew up for 9 or 10 days before hopping a train to Edinburgh where I will join a Haggis Adventures 5 day tour of Scotland.
My last trip home I was blown away my how much had changed since my previous visit home
( 1978?) Who knows if I will even recognize anything.
When I checked Google Maps they had messed up the names and addresses of most places in my home town. My childhood home was a full street off with the completely wrong house number, even though you could see the "15" as plain as day on the front door.
Let's hope my sense f direction is a little better than Google's when I finally make it home.
Today marks Day 10 in my countdown to my first trip to the UK in almost 20 years.
May 14th I hop a Transat flight to Gatwick which will hopefully get in on time.
My plan is to get to Durham in time for "tea" on May 15th and maybe get a plate of fish and chips
( the day being Friday)
Saturday it looks like I will be joining my cousin Stuart to see a Premier League game in which Sunderland boots Leicester's arse right out of the park!!
Then maybe 10 days hanging around with my cousins, exploring the places where I grew up for 9 or 10 days before hopping a train to Edinburgh where I will join a Haggis Adventures 5 day tour of Scotland.
My last trip home I was blown away my how much had changed since my previous visit home
( 1978?) Who knows if I will even recognize anything.
When I checked Google Maps they had messed up the names and addresses of most places in my home town. My childhood home was a full street off with the completely wrong house number, even though you could see the "15" as plain as day on the front door.
Let's hope my sense f direction is a little better than Google's when I finally make it home.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Three weeks on the road- notes to self
Note to self- dont pack so damn much.
While my backpack could have probably held more, I realize that 1 dress shirt and 1 less pair of pants would have sufficed. I deliberately did not bring jeans since they are heavy and take forever to dry after a good rainstorm- and we hit a few of those.
Shoes are a pain in the ass, but there was an absolute need for everything I took. Rockports with corrective insoles covered me for much of the trip but while they were drying, cross trainers filled the void on parts of the road where Mephisto sandals would have shredded my feet. Flip flops for kayaking and really wet days on cobblestones rounded things out.
Toys- Olympus E510. with wide angle zoom and telephoto have been my "go to" cameras for 6 years. Viewfinder when its is too bright to use the backscreen and multiple settings for various light conditions. 2 small backups- a FujiFinepix for general use- easily straps to waist and shoots 1020 video as well as Olympus waterproof- great for heavy rain and dumping into water when least expected,
Everything backs up to an ASUS tablet with 64G of memory on board with a further backup to google's cloud storage.
Still fighting with cut and paste issues for blog updates when travelling on buses with no net services.Current word like programs seem to be missing cut and paste when transfering to other formats like blogger. And yes, while I do have some exacting standards for toys, there are other things I miss when being on the road.
My accomodations need to be big enough for me and my bag to fit in the room simultaneously. The bathroom sink should not bruise my knees when I sit on the toilet. The A/C should not be "it worked fine for the last guest" nor should the TV have 5 german channels and 1 english. And please can it be BBC World news rather than CNN.
In Dubrovnik one channel offered a fixed camera view of the main street in the old city, complete with bats trying to bomb the camera at 11:30 at night- yes I was bored!!The only other option was a Kurasawa Samarai film spoken in Japanese and subtitled in Croation or a US reality show dubbed into the same!
I miss brocolli- had it once the entire trip. I did see a carrot on more than one occasion as well as several grilled peppers. I do even recall- or maybe it was a dream- a couple of sticks of asparagus in Budapest. Sadly I also recall daily doses of egg-plant. Eggplant has the texture of zuchini that has been left in the bottom of the vegetable compartment of the fridge for a month. like an old cucumber that explodes as it hits the side of the compost container!
Potatoes are fine, but mixed with chard every effing night? You have to be kidding.
And yes, like most North Americans, I am an internet junkie, so it pisses me off that hotels promote "free" WiFi but dont actually make the effort to provide a service that is faster than "dial-up" Travel companions can be an asset or sometimes just an ass. The current group was sort of middle of the road with some really great people, and some not so great.For the sake of peace and quite, that is as much as I will say on the subject.
A rough count tells me I have hit some 55 countries and a couple of hundred major cities in the course of my travels. I know people who have rarely left the province of Ontario and who consider a trip to Toronto an epic adventure.
I think my philosophy on travel hangs somewhere between the lines attributed to Ghandi:" learn as thoughyou would live for ever, life as though you would die tomorrow." But I like the way Warren Zevon said it best " I'll sleep when I'm dead!"
While my backpack could have probably held more, I realize that 1 dress shirt and 1 less pair of pants would have sufficed. I deliberately did not bring jeans since they are heavy and take forever to dry after a good rainstorm- and we hit a few of those.
Shoes are a pain in the ass, but there was an absolute need for everything I took. Rockports with corrective insoles covered me for much of the trip but while they were drying, cross trainers filled the void on parts of the road where Mephisto sandals would have shredded my feet. Flip flops for kayaking and really wet days on cobblestones rounded things out.
Toys- Olympus E510. with wide angle zoom and telephoto have been my "go to" cameras for 6 years. Viewfinder when its is too bright to use the backscreen and multiple settings for various light conditions. 2 small backups- a FujiFinepix for general use- easily straps to waist and shoots 1020 video as well as Olympus waterproof- great for heavy rain and dumping into water when least expected,
Everything backs up to an ASUS tablet with 64G of memory on board with a further backup to google's cloud storage.
Still fighting with cut and paste issues for blog updates when travelling on buses with no net services.Current word like programs seem to be missing cut and paste when transfering to other formats like blogger. And yes, while I do have some exacting standards for toys, there are other things I miss when being on the road.
My accomodations need to be big enough for me and my bag to fit in the room simultaneously. The bathroom sink should not bruise my knees when I sit on the toilet. The A/C should not be "it worked fine for the last guest" nor should the TV have 5 german channels and 1 english. And please can it be BBC World news rather than CNN.
In Dubrovnik one channel offered a fixed camera view of the main street in the old city, complete with bats trying to bomb the camera at 11:30 at night- yes I was bored!!The only other option was a Kurasawa Samarai film spoken in Japanese and subtitled in Croation or a US reality show dubbed into the same!
I miss brocolli- had it once the entire trip. I did see a carrot on more than one occasion as well as several grilled peppers. I do even recall- or maybe it was a dream- a couple of sticks of asparagus in Budapest. Sadly I also recall daily doses of egg-plant. Eggplant has the texture of zuchini that has been left in the bottom of the vegetable compartment of the fridge for a month. like an old cucumber that explodes as it hits the side of the compost container!
Potatoes are fine, but mixed with chard every effing night? You have to be kidding.
And yes, like most North Americans, I am an internet junkie, so it pisses me off that hotels promote "free" WiFi but dont actually make the effort to provide a service that is faster than "dial-up" Travel companions can be an asset or sometimes just an ass. The current group was sort of middle of the road with some really great people, and some not so great.For the sake of peace and quite, that is as much as I will say on the subject.
A rough count tells me I have hit some 55 countries and a couple of hundred major cities in the course of my travels. I know people who have rarely left the province of Ontario and who consider a trip to Toronto an epic adventure.
I think my philosophy on travel hangs somewhere between the lines attributed to Ghandi:" learn as thoughyou would live for ever, life as though you would die tomorrow." But I like the way Warren Zevon said it best " I'll sleep when I'm dead!"
vienna- what else is there to say?
Serbian Airlines made the trip 2 Vienna in 2 stages, Split to Belgrade in just under an hour- during which time they served a decent sandwich, coffee and bottled water- (Air Canada and Westjet charge for that privilege!) The Belgrade to Vienna run was 2 hours long- turboprop-I didn't think anyone had those any more, again a sandwich, no coffee this time, but a choice of juices. Customs was a breeze and the trip to downtown was a 20 minute bus ride through, judging by the smell, a coal gas plant and industrial area- hard to tell since it was dark.
The hotel was a 15 minute walk from the bus stop- thank God for GPS. AllYouNeed Hotel Vienna2 looked like a student dorm and the room itself an Ikea display complete with Billi shelving and wardrobes.
A quick breakfast this morning and then touring St Stephen's Cathedral by 10am- perhaps the most magnificent building I have ever seen.
A walk through the downtown core brought me to the Museum area for a tour of the Kunst Historisches Museum. Featuring artworks from well known European painters from the 15th century on, this palatial building needed a full afternoon to see completely. As an extra the ticket also included the Neue Berg Museum too. Featuring a whole section devoted to Ephesus as well as Medieval armour and musical instruments, this again was a visit requiring several hours, although we settled for just one- all our tired feet would allow.
A slow walk through various parks and squares brought us back to the hotel for a quick rest before supper.
Clearly Vienna requires a good week to see properly-the two days I allowed will barely offer a taste of some of the key sights and the rest will have to wait for another visit.
Thursday,
Pissing down rain left any plans to see the world on hold. A trip by metro to the Schonbrunn Palace with its 1441 rooms allowed a brief glimpse of how the other half lived- from what the audio guide told us- rather miserably and obsessively!!
Lunch was back at the hotel- take out from a local diner- while my clothing dried a bit.
A stab at a final photo -op of various churches and the Parliament and Rathaus ( town hall) turned me into a semi drowned rat, leaving plans for Vienna a total washout!
A trip to Vienna could not be complete without a taste of local food so dinner at a small local beer hall/ restaurant was Wiener Scnitzel ( made with real veal) potato salad and red cabbage. Dessert was plum dumpling- a whole plum smothered in a light dough and covered with plum jam. Not neccessarily the perfect end, but a fitting end to the trip.
The hotel was a 15 minute walk from the bus stop- thank God for GPS. AllYouNeed Hotel Vienna2 looked like a student dorm and the room itself an Ikea display complete with Billi shelving and wardrobes.
A quick breakfast this morning and then touring St Stephen's Cathedral by 10am- perhaps the most magnificent building I have ever seen.
A walk through the downtown core brought me to the Museum area for a tour of the Kunst Historisches Museum. Featuring artworks from well known European painters from the 15th century on, this palatial building needed a full afternoon to see completely. As an extra the ticket also included the Neue Berg Museum too. Featuring a whole section devoted to Ephesus as well as Medieval armour and musical instruments, this again was a visit requiring several hours, although we settled for just one- all our tired feet would allow.
A slow walk through various parks and squares brought us back to the hotel for a quick rest before supper.
Clearly Vienna requires a good week to see properly-the two days I allowed will barely offer a taste of some of the key sights and the rest will have to wait for another visit.
Thursday,
Pissing down rain left any plans to see the world on hold. A trip by metro to the Schonbrunn Palace with its 1441 rooms allowed a brief glimpse of how the other half lived- from what the audio guide told us- rather miserably and obsessively!!
Lunch was back at the hotel- take out from a local diner- while my clothing dried a bit.
A stab at a final photo -op of various churches and the Parliament and Rathaus ( town hall) turned me into a semi drowned rat, leaving plans for Vienna a total washout!
A trip to Vienna could not be complete without a taste of local food so dinner at a small local beer hall/ restaurant was Wiener Scnitzel ( made with real veal) potato salad and red cabbage. Dessert was plum dumpling- a whole plum smothered in a light dough and covered with plum jam. Not neccessarily the perfect end, but a fitting end to the trip.
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| View from Cathedral tower- Vienna |
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| Memorial to Jewish people of Vienna who died during WWII |
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| Parliament Building- Vienna |
Monday, September 8, 2014
Split- Croatia
Monday September 8th,
The last full day before we return to Vienna. We arrived in Split Saturday afternoon and had a brief tour of the main old city accompanied by a local guide. The key structure is the Palace of Dioclecian, a Roman Emperor from late 3rd-early 4th centuryA.D. Originally located with its main wall running along the ocean, it is now several yards inland due to reclamation. Occupying 190 X 160 meters it was the emperor's private residence containing private living quarters, a large forum, temple to Jupiter and various other structures. A large mausoleum housing his remains was later converted to a Church ( he had a great dislike of Christianity and often punished it's converts) Much of the palace has been converted over the years into private residences, restaurants and hotels.A large bell tower, adjacent to the mausoleum provides a very impressive panorama of the city, if one dares ascend the many steep stone stairs and later on a set of steel steps to the top.
While the palace is reasonably preserved, the city that the Romans built, some 4 miles away is largely reduced to building foundations only. Salona was once the principal Roman city in the area, with the Palace, simply a summer residence. While much remains of the palace, the city has been left mostly untouched since it was destroyed by warring tribes in the 5th century.
An ampitheatre is the largest structure remaining at the far west of this extensive site.Other structures of interest are the foundations of various churches and a basilica. In one area several well preserved stone sarcophagi seem to have been randomly arranged around the foundations of what is described as an "Episcopal Centre" from the 4th and 5th centuries.
Perhaps as interesting as the ruins was the ride there by city bus. By the time we paid our fare there ws little room to squeeze through the crowded bus. Three stops later the driver appeared to be attempting a Guiness world record. A small woman of perhaps 80's vintage was yelling and pushing her way onto the bus, presumably cussing in Croatian for people to let her through. Voices were raised in response but ultimately she found herself some space in the middle of the bus where she ranted for a minute or two longer. Interestingly no-one seemed willing to offer up their seats for her or anyone else. The bus remained packed until we reached the modern day town of Solin, where 90% of the passengers piled out, finally leaving us some elbow room for the remaining half mile to the ruins.
Returning to town we stopped at a place claiming to be Billi's Fast Food where we waited over an hour for a small pizza and a small meat plate!
With the temperature in the mid twenties, the humidy seems rather oppressive today,so this afternoon a beer and a siesta, before heading out for the evening with the remaining members of our group who are lingering in Spalato ( Split's original Roman name) for a few more days.
Photos will be posted from Belgium, where, presumably internet will not be as slow as dial-up!!!
The last full day before we return to Vienna. We arrived in Split Saturday afternoon and had a brief tour of the main old city accompanied by a local guide. The key structure is the Palace of Dioclecian, a Roman Emperor from late 3rd-early 4th centuryA.D. Originally located with its main wall running along the ocean, it is now several yards inland due to reclamation. Occupying 190 X 160 meters it was the emperor's private residence containing private living quarters, a large forum, temple to Jupiter and various other structures. A large mausoleum housing his remains was later converted to a Church ( he had a great dislike of Christianity and often punished it's converts) Much of the palace has been converted over the years into private residences, restaurants and hotels.A large bell tower, adjacent to the mausoleum provides a very impressive panorama of the city, if one dares ascend the many steep stone stairs and later on a set of steel steps to the top.
While the palace is reasonably preserved, the city that the Romans built, some 4 miles away is largely reduced to building foundations only. Salona was once the principal Roman city in the area, with the Palace, simply a summer residence. While much remains of the palace, the city has been left mostly untouched since it was destroyed by warring tribes in the 5th century.
An ampitheatre is the largest structure remaining at the far west of this extensive site.Other structures of interest are the foundations of various churches and a basilica. In one area several well preserved stone sarcophagi seem to have been randomly arranged around the foundations of what is described as an "Episcopal Centre" from the 4th and 5th centuries.
Perhaps as interesting as the ruins was the ride there by city bus. By the time we paid our fare there ws little room to squeeze through the crowded bus. Three stops later the driver appeared to be attempting a Guiness world record. A small woman of perhaps 80's vintage was yelling and pushing her way onto the bus, presumably cussing in Croatian for people to let her through. Voices were raised in response but ultimately she found herself some space in the middle of the bus where she ranted for a minute or two longer. Interestingly no-one seemed willing to offer up their seats for her or anyone else. The bus remained packed until we reached the modern day town of Solin, where 90% of the passengers piled out, finally leaving us some elbow room for the remaining half mile to the ruins.
Returning to town we stopped at a place claiming to be Billi's Fast Food where we waited over an hour for a small pizza and a small meat plate!
With the temperature in the mid twenties, the humidy seems rather oppressive today,so this afternoon a beer and a siesta, before heading out for the evening with the remaining members of our group who are lingering in Spalato ( Split's original Roman name) for a few more days.
Photos will be posted from Belgium, where, presumably internet will not be as slow as dial-up!!!
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Hvar the hell are we????
Friday ( I think?) night in Croatia and we are spending our second night in Hvar, an island due south from Split ( an hour by ferry)
As if being on an island in the Adriatic isn't enough, we took a 4 hour boat ride so we could travel to other islands in the adriatic where we swam, sheltered from a 2 hour pissing down rain storm and ate a reasonable lunch in the shelter of a bay on the island of Palmizana (almost like the cheese with a funny accent like a v over the z!)
The main town of Hvar is has roots going back several thousand years. A fortress overlooking the town dates back to< I'm guessing here- 15th century. Architecture in town is a mix of Venitian and Moorish with ornate arched windows and doorways. The fortress walls in the lower part of town are barely visible as they have been blended into the walls of homes and commercial buildings. A main street is reminiscent of Dubrovnik , though somewhat narrower and shorter.
The harbour is home to small wooden fishing boats as well as a temorary shelter for million dollar ( and much more) yachts and multi decked cruisers. 80% of the real estate near the water seems to be occupied by restaurants that are offering the same cookie cutter menu as everyone else. Prices are quite steep too with the average dish topping out at 25-30 Euro.
Luckily our guide steered us to a place a little distance from the town centre offering great food at more reasonable prices. Going by the name of Alviz, it isn't owned by a Croatian Elvis impersonator but by a family who all work in the joint. Boasting of food grilled over charcoal and some amazing looking pizza, it was packed, with about half the people locals. I am reluctant to rate it on tripadvisor in case I spoil a good thing. Entire meal including drinks came to 171k. which is less than the price of a single appetizer at some of the waterfront places.
A slow, relaxing walk back to the hotel then the stress of dealing with the joy of packing wet clothing and towels for our return to Split in the morning.
An early start tomorrow will bring us to Split, where the G Adventures part of the trip ends. Two more days in town on our own before we begin our slow return to Canada.
As if being on an island in the Adriatic isn't enough, we took a 4 hour boat ride so we could travel to other islands in the adriatic where we swam, sheltered from a 2 hour pissing down rain storm and ate a reasonable lunch in the shelter of a bay on the island of Palmizana (almost like the cheese with a funny accent like a v over the z!)
The main town of Hvar is has roots going back several thousand years. A fortress overlooking the town dates back to< I'm guessing here- 15th century. Architecture in town is a mix of Venitian and Moorish with ornate arched windows and doorways. The fortress walls in the lower part of town are barely visible as they have been blended into the walls of homes and commercial buildings. A main street is reminiscent of Dubrovnik , though somewhat narrower and shorter.
The harbour is home to small wooden fishing boats as well as a temorary shelter for million dollar ( and much more) yachts and multi decked cruisers. 80% of the real estate near the water seems to be occupied by restaurants that are offering the same cookie cutter menu as everyone else. Prices are quite steep too with the average dish topping out at 25-30 Euro.
Luckily our guide steered us to a place a little distance from the town centre offering great food at more reasonable prices. Going by the name of Alviz, it isn't owned by a Croatian Elvis impersonator but by a family who all work in the joint. Boasting of food grilled over charcoal and some amazing looking pizza, it was packed, with about half the people locals. I am reluctant to rate it on tripadvisor in case I spoil a good thing. Entire meal including drinks came to 171k. which is less than the price of a single appetizer at some of the waterfront places.
A slow, relaxing walk back to the hotel then the stress of dealing with the joy of packing wet clothing and towels for our return to Split in the morning.
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| Abandoned church near fortress overlooking Hvar harbour |
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| Boats at sunset- Hvar harbour |
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| Main square and cathedral- Hvar |
Friday, September 5, 2014
Dubrovnik- Day 2
Never take shelter in a tunnel when it is raining!!!!
This morning we set off with the best of inyentions- to see all the sites in Dubrovnik that we had missed yesterday. Things started off fine- a walk over and up to Fort Lovrjenac- a stone fortress outside of the old city walls which is, apparently used in the filming of Game of Thrones. Then a trip by cablecar brought us to the top of Srj mountain and the old napoleonic fortress. Inside the fortress, a display of photos and memorabilia from the 1991/2 seige of the city by Serbian and Montenegran military proved a sad and moving history lesson.
Wanting to get some photos of the city from different viewpoints, we chose to walk down the mountain rather than returning via the cablecar. This proved to be a rather strenuous zig zag over broken rock, pebbles and sand which took much longer than planned due to the rain damage from the massive storm on Monday.
Thunder cracked loudly overhead and a storm could be seen rolling in from the south before we reached ground level. The rain began just as we reached the edge of the trail, turning quickly into a major downpour forcing us to take shelter under some evergreens for several minutes.
A mad dash across the road allowed us to seek shelter in and follow the path of a road tunnel leading towards the old town. Approaching the end of the tunnel where another couple was also sheltering, we heard a squeeling of brakes and looked back to see a mini-van slide out of control before jumping the kerb and smashing into the tunnel wall. We checked that the driver was OK then made a further series of dashes towards the old town, ducking into shelter where we could. Arriving on the mainstreet almost totally soaked, we purchased an umbrella (for next time!) then a quick meal before hopping a bus back to the hotel.
With any plans to see the rest of the city totally kaiboched by the continuing rain, Dubrovnik is clearly on the radar for another visit in a year or two.
A 7:15 departure this morning left us, little time to dry our clothing before catching a public bus to Split for our boat ride to the island of Hvar.
This morning we set off with the best of inyentions- to see all the sites in Dubrovnik that we had missed yesterday. Things started off fine- a walk over and up to Fort Lovrjenac- a stone fortress outside of the old city walls which is, apparently used in the filming of Game of Thrones. Then a trip by cablecar brought us to the top of Srj mountain and the old napoleonic fortress. Inside the fortress, a display of photos and memorabilia from the 1991/2 seige of the city by Serbian and Montenegran military proved a sad and moving history lesson.
Wanting to get some photos of the city from different viewpoints, we chose to walk down the mountain rather than returning via the cablecar. This proved to be a rather strenuous zig zag over broken rock, pebbles and sand which took much longer than planned due to the rain damage from the massive storm on Monday.
Thunder cracked loudly overhead and a storm could be seen rolling in from the south before we reached ground level. The rain began just as we reached the edge of the trail, turning quickly into a major downpour forcing us to take shelter under some evergreens for several minutes.
A mad dash across the road allowed us to seek shelter in and follow the path of a road tunnel leading towards the old town. Approaching the end of the tunnel where another couple was also sheltering, we heard a squeeling of brakes and looked back to see a mini-van slide out of control before jumping the kerb and smashing into the tunnel wall. We checked that the driver was OK then made a further series of dashes towards the old town, ducking into shelter where we could. Arriving on the mainstreet almost totally soaked, we purchased an umbrella (for next time!) then a quick meal before hopping a bus back to the hotel.
With any plans to see the rest of the city totally kaiboched by the continuing rain, Dubrovnik is clearly on the radar for another visit in a year or two.
A 7:15 departure this morning left us, little time to dry our clothing before catching a public bus to Split for our boat ride to the island of Hvar.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Dubrovnik- Day 1
Tonight we are in the Hotel Moskow in Dubrovnik. It's actually the Hotel Adriatic, but it was clearly built during the Soviet era- cement walls, very basic furniture and rather steire in appearance. Rated a 2 star, which is probably a stretch, it is home for the next 2 days. Across the road is a "beach" consisting of pebbles rather tha sand.
After extremely heavy rain yesterday, the water is mirky and the water coming out of the tap is brown.
The trip from Kotortook almost 3 hours due to a lengthy stop at the border. Apparently one of the major routes for drug trafficking and smuggling in general, customs officers were giving several vehicles a total search unlike anything I have seen elsewhere. They didn't rip out the seats but they clearly didn't plan on missing anything. Luckily our vehicle wasn't pulled over for inspection.
Afte checking in and grabbing a quick lunch our tour leader took us to the old walled city where we met a local guide for a tour of the main buildings.
Following that we took the obligatory walk around the walls of the city. Roughly 2km in length the walk provided an incredible view across the old city with its red tiled roofs and various churches and towers.
The sun was setting as we completed the walk and descended several dozen steps to the ground.
We almost managed to make it to our chosen restaurant before the skies opened up and the rain began to pour, so our planned dinner on a balcony overlooking the Adriatic turned into a dinner inside, overlooking the kitchen.
Intermitent rain is forcast for tomorrow and for the balance of the week. Let's hope the forecast is wrong on that one.
After extremely heavy rain yesterday, the water is mirky and the water coming out of the tap is brown.
The trip from Kotortook almost 3 hours due to a lengthy stop at the border. Apparently one of the major routes for drug trafficking and smuggling in general, customs officers were giving several vehicles a total search unlike anything I have seen elsewhere. They didn't rip out the seats but they clearly didn't plan on missing anything. Luckily our vehicle wasn't pulled over for inspection.
Afte checking in and grabbing a quick lunch our tour leader took us to the old walled city where we met a local guide for a tour of the main buildings.
Following that we took the obligatory walk around the walls of the city. Roughly 2km in length the walk provided an incredible view across the old city with its red tiled roofs and various churches and towers.
The sun was setting as we completed the walk and descended several dozen steps to the ground.
We almost managed to make it to our chosen restaurant before the skies opened up and the rain began to pour, so our planned dinner on a balcony overlooking the Adriatic turned into a dinner inside, overlooking the kitchen.
Intermitent rain is forcast for tomorrow and for the balance of the week. Let's hope the forecast is wrong on that one.
 |
| Dubrovnik , as seen from the walk down from the fortress |
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Washed out, but not wasted
The promised rain and thunderstorms failed to materialize on Sunday, allowing us to spend the morning enjoying a pleasant but tiring 3 hours kayaking in the Bay of Kotor.
The afternoon was spent having lunch and walking around the town of Budva, located directly on the Adriatic a half hour taxi ride south of Kotor. Apparently having a better night life than Kotor, it boasts of attracting movie and music stars from around the globe.
Like Kotor, the main attraction was the old city, similarly surrounded by old stone walls and consisting of a maze of streets filled with tourists. In restrospect, we could have saved the taxi fare and stayed in town, but it gave us a break from all the cruise ship passangers flooding the town.
In the evening a hike up to the castle ruins overlooking the town proved an exhausting but revearding challenge as it afforded a magnificent view of the town and the eastern part of the bay.
between the churchbells and the thunderstorm crashing around us there was no possibility of sleeping late. As we enjoyed a rather lazy breakfast we watched the streets fill with water as cruise ship tourists ran to shelter from the rainstorm.
The weather broke around 9:30am allowing us to escape the hotel and pick up wine, cheeseand snacks from the local supermarket.
The rain held off during an afternoon boatride to a couple of small islands near the mouth of the bay and we had a half hour to explore a small island on which is located the Church of Our Lady of the Rock ( Gospo od Skrpjela). First commenced in 1452 the island was built over the next 200 years by adding rocks to an existing reef, upon which the church was then built. Filled with a treasure trove of silver plate, stone carvings, various paintings and frescoes, the ! Euro admission was a real bargain.
A further stop at the adjacent town of Perast provided some interesting photo ops. before we returned to Kotor.
The return trip brought us smack into the middle of a major thunderstorm so the ride was rather bumpy with waves breaking over the boat and water pouring in from the sides. By the time we completed the 30 minute trip back to Kotor the storm had broken and the sun was trying to break through. The Cunard cruise ship, the Queen Elizabeth was just preparing to set sail,its 2000+ passengers probably happy to get back on board and change out of their wet clothing.
At 7pm we are debating the our dining options for the evening. As 80% of the restaurants are mostly outside seating, our choices may be limited by the weather.
An 8am start is planned for tomorrow. If everything goes according to plan, we will be in Dubrovnik in plenty of time for lunch.
The afternoon was spent having lunch and walking around the town of Budva, located directly on the Adriatic a half hour taxi ride south of Kotor. Apparently having a better night life than Kotor, it boasts of attracting movie and music stars from around the globe.
Like Kotor, the main attraction was the old city, similarly surrounded by old stone walls and consisting of a maze of streets filled with tourists. In restrospect, we could have saved the taxi fare and stayed in town, but it gave us a break from all the cruise ship passangers flooding the town.
In the evening a hike up to the castle ruins overlooking the town proved an exhausting but revearding challenge as it afforded a magnificent view of the town and the eastern part of the bay.
between the churchbells and the thunderstorm crashing around us there was no possibility of sleeping late. As we enjoyed a rather lazy breakfast we watched the streets fill with water as cruise ship tourists ran to shelter from the rainstorm.
The weather broke around 9:30am allowing us to escape the hotel and pick up wine, cheeseand snacks from the local supermarket.
The rain held off during an afternoon boatride to a couple of small islands near the mouth of the bay and we had a half hour to explore a small island on which is located the Church of Our Lady of the Rock ( Gospo od Skrpjela). First commenced in 1452 the island was built over the next 200 years by adding rocks to an existing reef, upon which the church was then built. Filled with a treasure trove of silver plate, stone carvings, various paintings and frescoes, the ! Euro admission was a real bargain.
A further stop at the adjacent town of Perast provided some interesting photo ops. before we returned to Kotor.
The return trip brought us smack into the middle of a major thunderstorm so the ride was rather bumpy with waves breaking over the boat and water pouring in from the sides. By the time we completed the 30 minute trip back to Kotor the storm had broken and the sun was trying to break through. The Cunard cruise ship, the Queen Elizabeth was just preparing to set sail,its 2000+ passengers probably happy to get back on board and change out of their wet clothing.
At 7pm we are debating the our dining options for the evening. As 80% of the restaurants are mostly outside seating, our choices may be limited by the weather.
An 8am start is planned for tomorrow. If everything goes according to plan, we will be in Dubrovnik in plenty of time for lunch.
Monday, September 1, 2014
Sarajevo to Kotar
Leaving the old city of Sarajevo by private bus, we quickly passed through the western side of the modern city, drab apartment blocks and elaborate commercial buildings, before heading south west towards Montenegro.
With three possible routes available to us, I wasn't sure why the driver selected the chosen path, shortest? most scenic? or scariest - perhaps all 3.
The road followed a meandering path along the sides of some rugged and rather steep hills that were mostly covered in evergreens. Reaching a town called Foca, about an hour from the border, the road began to narrow considerably as it wound higher up the slopes of a rather rugged mountain range. Severl hundred feet below. a river rushed in roughly the same direction. Occasionally we would pass small homesteads bordered by low stone walls and fences, the owners working the small plots of land. Cows wandered freely, causing the driver to take evasive action on more than one occcasion.
At bends the road narrowed to the point that vehicles had to pull over for opposing traffic.
We reached the border around noon. Several border guards sipped tea and read newspapers in the shade of their "portables" After about 10 minutes we entered Montenegro via a somewhat rusted Bailey bridge. Beside it two cement arches marked the remains of the former bridge- destroyed by flood or force of man??
After a similar stop on the Montenegro side we continued our journey.
The road widened and the hills and mountains around us grew taller as we proceeded towards the Piva River Canyon. The road gradually rose higher as we continued along the canyon, the river far below a bright blue snake, winding its way southwest. Eventually the canyon was traversed by a large cement dam. Behind it the river rose several hundred feet as it widened a similar amount. We followed this manmade waterway for several miles before the road broke away from the rivers edge and climbed again higher.
It wasn't till almost 4pm that we finally saw the sea, or more precisely
A quick exploratory walk found us almost, but not quite lost in the maze of old stone buildings and squares.
Dinner tonight was grilled squid at a very small seafood restaurant hidden down one of the side streets. Considerably more expensive than Bosnia and Serbia, the meal still worked out at $26 Euro for the two of us- still cheap by Canadian standards
(approx $40.00 including wine and tip)
Heavy rain is forecast for tomorrow or Monday- hopefully it will break the rather uncomfortable humidity that is present.
The plan is to be here for 3 nights before heading to Dubrovnik, a place that is (according to people at an adjacent table at the restaurant) wall to wall tourists. Our tour guide assured us that there wont be any cruise ships visiting while we are there so that is a comforting thought to sign off with.
With three possible routes available to us, I wasn't sure why the driver selected the chosen path, shortest? most scenic? or scariest - perhaps all 3.
The road followed a meandering path along the sides of some rugged and rather steep hills that were mostly covered in evergreens. Reaching a town called Foca, about an hour from the border, the road began to narrow considerably as it wound higher up the slopes of a rather rugged mountain range. Severl hundred feet below. a river rushed in roughly the same direction. Occasionally we would pass small homesteads bordered by low stone walls and fences, the owners working the small plots of land. Cows wandered freely, causing the driver to take evasive action on more than one occcasion.
At bends the road narrowed to the point that vehicles had to pull over for opposing traffic.
We reached the border around noon. Several border guards sipped tea and read newspapers in the shade of their "portables" After about 10 minutes we entered Montenegro via a somewhat rusted Bailey bridge. Beside it two cement arches marked the remains of the former bridge- destroyed by flood or force of man??
After a similar stop on the Montenegro side we continued our journey.
The road widened and the hills and mountains around us grew taller as we proceeded towards the Piva River Canyon. The road gradually rose higher as we continued along the canyon, the river far below a bright blue snake, winding its way southwest. Eventually the canyon was traversed by a large cement dam. Behind it the river rose several hundred feet as it widened a similar amount. We followed this manmade waterway for several miles before the road broke away from the rivers edge and climbed again higher.
It wasn't till almost 4pm that we finally saw the sea, or more precisely
 |
| Piva River Canyon from bridge |
the Bay of Kotor some 4 miles distant and several hundred feet below. A slow and winding decent brought us to the waters edge and we followed the road along the entire bay, eventually arriving at the ancient town of Kotor around 4.45pm.
Our accomodations, the Hotel Marija is located within the old city walls. Less than half a km across, the old city is roughly a triangle with dozens of narrow streets scattered in all directions.A quick exploratory walk found us almost, but not quite lost in the maze of old stone buildings and squares.
Dinner tonight was grilled squid at a very small seafood restaurant hidden down one of the side streets. Considerably more expensive than Bosnia and Serbia, the meal still worked out at $26 Euro for the two of us- still cheap by Canadian standards
(approx $40.00 including wine and tip)
Heavy rain is forecast for tomorrow or Monday- hopefully it will break the rather uncomfortable humidity that is present.
The plan is to be here for 3 nights before heading to Dubrovnik, a place that is (according to people at an adjacent table at the restaurant) wall to wall tourists. Our tour guide assured us that there wont be any cruise ships visiting while we are there so that is a comforting thought to sign off with.
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